Allowed to speak

Rice, 50, a former Stanford Provost, was interrupted by at least four protesters wearing black hoods and robes who, at the beginning of her speech, stood on their seats with hands outstretched in various parts of the audience, attempting to evoke imagery from the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. The protesters, chanting, “Stop the Torture, U.S. out of Iraq,” were led from the audience by police without incident.

Rice proceeded with her address, but received applause when she acknowledged the disruption, saying, “Isn’t it wonderful that we live in a country where people are allowed to speak?”

Story. As reader David R. asks, “Since when does being led from the room by the police constitute being ‘allowed to speak’?”